Material transfer, materials handling, and batch making of mixtures are required in a multitude of commercial applications. Where those applications are related to agricultural operations, precision farming and other pressures for efficiency have driven a number of improvements, new combinations and other means to track inputs from container and field to crop yielded. Further, certain inputs are very expensive on a per ounce basis driving the need to fully empty containers and account for all of the input.
In agricultural as well as almost every other business, efficiency in terms of time, labor, and product use remains a holy grail worth pursuing.
Liquid materials are often delivered in a jug, with or without a pour spout, and usually with a lid that is removable or displaceable. Efficiency and productivity are reduced by the time required to adequately empty the contents of the jug, especially where the liquid is viscous. The alternative is no more appealing—removing the container before it is adequately drained increases the number of times a container must be loaded and leaves valuable contents in the container as waste or the subject of a second process to remove.
Further, reconciling the amount purchased with the amount used is often heavily influenced by assumptions rather than actual measurements. What was needed was a way to accurately and efficiently empty containers and effectively assure complete emptying and accounting of their contents.